Police operation sees hundreds of bike seized in Wigan and beyond

A total of 104 bikes have been taken off streets with 33 arrests being made in the process across Greater Manchester, these bikes have been seized for having no insurance, being driven in an anti-social manner or it being suspected stolen.

These seizures and arrests have occurred in the hotspot areas of Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Wigan.

The anti-social use of these vehicles causes misery within communities, impacting on quality of life and posing danger to those using the roads and open spaces.

Such behaviour has sadly led to fatal and serious injury crashes, which has a significant effect on riders, their families and local community.

Criminals are also using these modes of transport to commit further crime, including drug supply, robbery, burglary and theft.

Det Chief Insp Rick Thompson from GMP’s Prevention Branch said: “I am really pleased that we have managed to seize more than 100 problem bikes, when this operation was launched, we made a commitment to crackdown on these sorts of incidents which have plagued our streets for many years now.

“This is a Home Office operation and we have had some really good jobs over the past few months, where we have used all of the resources at our disposal including operational support from our Specialist Operations Branch, utilising units such as Roads Policing, Drone and Motorcycle Unit and the National Police Air Service.

“Our work is not done, we will continue to monitor these hotspot areas and take action when needed, I would like to thank the public for their help, the information they have provided either during live incidents or post-incident.

“Their assistance has been fantastic, and we would not have been able to get as many bikes off the roads without them playing their part.

“If you know who is using motorcycles anti-socially or to commit crime, let us know. Report online or call Greater Manchester Police on 101, or 999 in an emergency. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

“We also want to know where these bikes are being stored. Please reach out if you have any information that will help us in our quest to reduce motorcycle-related crime.

“Our priority is to ensure that our roads and open spaces are safe for all.”